Gerard was sitting on his bed holding his cell phone. Mikey has just come in and was sitting across the room with a worried look on his face. “Bob tried calling Kara again but it went to voicemail.”
Gerard just nodded. “I’m sorry I snapped at him about Kara. I’m just so fucking worried. Why hadn’t she called me back?”
“It’s only been about twenty minutes, Gee.” Mikey said softly.
“Kell’s boyfriend drinks.”
Mikey hadn’t known this. “Shit”
“Kell promised me she’d never get into a car with him drunk.” He said still looking at the phone.
“Gee, maybe this had nothing to do with drinking.”
He nodded, “Monica was worried because the weather’s been bad there all day. Maybe it was a car accident cause of the rain.” He looked over at his brother, “Shit, should I call Ma? If the police showed up to tell Monica something terrible I know she’s there alone. Fuck, I don’t know what to do.”
“Want me to call Mom?”
“I just want Monica to call me.” He set the phone down on the bed and went in search of his cigarettes. Bob knocked on the door and he let him in.
“No word?”
Gerard shook his head, “Sorry about what I said.”
Bob clasped his shoulder, “Dude I understand. I’m fucking worried too. Frank called Jamia and told her what’s going on. She’s gonna keep trying to get a hold of Alicia and Kara.”
The waiting continued.

Down the hall, Ray and Christa had decided to play a Movie On Demand thru the hotel. A light-hearted argument ensued as they discussed just what title to buy. Christa’s pick was [I]the Fantastic Four[/I]. Ray’s pick was [I]The Lake House[/I] with Sandra Bullock. Ray gave in to Christa’s wishes and agreed to watch the super hero movie. Christa told Ray to buy the movie while she got more ice from the machine down the hall.
She grabbed the ice bucket from the bathroom and found her flip flops. She padded down to the end of the hall where the ice machine and snack machines were located. As the bucket filled, she saw Mikey entering Gerard’s room. He was followed within a few seconds by Bob. Mikey then left Gee’s and went back across the hall to his room. He was carrying on an animated conversation on his cell. As Mikey entered his room, he was passed by Frank who crossed over to Gerard’s. Christa stopped filling the bucket and watched in wonder as Mikey, still on the phone, ran back across the hall, passing Frank, who was also now on his cell, going back. When no one reappeared, she finished filling the bucket and headed back to her own room.
“Ray, I think something’s going on with your band mates.” Christa called out as she keyed back into the room.
Ray didn’t look away from the TV.
“Did you hear me?”
“Christa, come on. You’re going to miss it.”
Christa came further into the room.
“Ray, where are your clothes?” She turned to look at the screen he was intently staring at. “Ray…..this isn’t [I]Fantastic Four[/I].”
“No, It’s [I]Fantastic Foreplay[/I]. I found another list of movies. This is a classic.”
Christa looked at the screen and then back at the man who was obviously very happy to see her.
“Hurry up, Christa. You won’t believe this woman’s super powers. Look, here comes RodeHer, her side lick, I mean kick”
Christa looked at the screen once more. “And I always thought that dogs were man’s best friends.” And with that she dumped the contents of the ice bucket where it would do the most good.
It was true, Ray really did have a high pitched scream.

Monica fell into the sofa and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath reached for her phone. There were numerous missed calls. She punched Gerard’s preset number. He answered on the first ring.
“Monica, tell me.” His voice was strained.
“She’s okay Gee but in trouble. The police stopped Mike’s car at a DWI check point.” She took a deep breath, “Kelly was driving.”
“What? Why?”
“She and Mike went out tonight. I don’t know much more yet. She was soaking wet, muddy and crying when the police brought her home. They told me that Kelly as driving and that Mike was drunk. I just don’t understand what happened. Why didn’t she call me?
Gerard felt some of the tension fade, “Monica, she didn’t call you cause he would have been in trouble. She was trying to cover for him. I should know. Lots of people tried to cover for me when I was drinking. They thought they were doing me a favor.”
“I was so scared, Gee” She sounded near tears. “When I saw the police car I couldn’t breath. I don’t think I took a breath until I opened the door and saw her standing there between the two police officers.”
“Where is she now?”
“Upstairs taking a shower. She was so upset and cold that she was shaking.”
“Monica, I’ll talk to her but not tonight. In the morning I’ll call and talk to her. She did the right thing but not letting some drunk drive. But she made a poor choice on how to handle the situation. We have to make her understand that.”
“Yeah” Monica agreed in a small voice. “Gee there’s more I have to tell you.”
Now she was crying.

Kelly was standing letting the hot water wash away the mud and tears. Why hadn’t she just stayed home? She knew something was going to happen. She closed her eyes and could still hear Mike yelling at her. He was so angry she had pissed off Dylan. She had never seen him that angry. She closed her eyes and blocked out what happened next. Why had she listened to him? Was it because he had told her that he would be in so much trouble that his parents would send him away to get help? Or was it because he told her he loved her and that she was all the help he needed? He had taken her in his arms and kissed her gently telling her over and over how sorry he was. The roar of the shower masked the sound of her sobs.

Mikey had heard enough of Gerard’s conversation to know that Kelly was home. He could tell something bad had happened but she was home and that was the most important thing. His phone vibrated. He waited until he was in the hall on the way to his own room that he answered.
“Mikey what the hell is going on? I’ve got a ton of missed calls.” Alicia asked sounding frantic.
Mikey quickly explained to her as much as he knew about the situation.
“Shit, Kara’s on the phone with Bob right now. Fuck, I wonder what happened?”
“Don’t know.” Mikey walked in. “Babe, I’ve gotta fill Frank in on what I know. Can you let Jamia know Kelly’s home?”
“Yeah, sure. Call me back when you know more, okay?’
“Yeah, I will.” Mikey told Frank what he knew then took off again for Gee’s room. When he walked in he saw the look on Gerard’s face and knew that something very bad had happened.

“That son of a bitch.” Gerard roared into the phone. “Did she tell the police?”
“Gee, I’ve got to talk to her and find out what exactly happened. I’m just telling you what I saw.” Monica was trying to calm him down but it wasn’t easy when she was so upset herself. “She’s coming down the steps. Let me talk to her and I’ll call you back.”
“Yeah, call me back as soon as you can.” He closed is eyes, “Monica, tell her how much I love her, okay?”
“I’ll tell her Gee.”